


Episode 1

by memphis (eglee)



Series: AstroRock_AU [1]
Category: Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, Rockman | Mega Man Classic, Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, AstroboyUniversebro, Attempt at Humor, Bad Parenting, Ethics, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Robot Feels, Some Humor, Suicide Attempt, Three Laws of Robotics, Underlying dark themes, thanks mr tezuka for fueling my overall stupid decision to write this, whats with the morbid undertones i dont even know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 14:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20695325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eglee/pseuds/memphis
Summary: Dr. Light, with the unknown help of a terrestrial being, brings life back into Rock, an advanced android with Kokoro, the ability to ignore the laws of robotics. However, Light also unknowingly sparks reanimation into more things than just Rock. Now, Rock will take on the alias of Rockman to earn the hearts of the citizens of Metropolis, and learn how to truly be a good human.(art by @eg-leet on tumblr)Episode 1 of the AstroRock AU series, a Series Work inspired and based off the Astroboy 2003 series. Characters from the Megaman Classic and X universe are substituted into this reimagined twist on the original story.





	1. Background Noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Light and the other scientists at The Ministry of Technology have begun the process of reincarnating and old technological marvel.

-

The Doctor stood behind the glass barrier with the other scientists, unsure whether to be afraid or elated. A discontinued machine created by the infamous criminal mastermind Dr. Wily was laid out across a worktable on the other side of the protective transparent shield. He could only hope his efforts would pay off at this moment, a spark of reanimation might be cast into the shell of what used to be an independent creation.

“Dr. Light,” one man said, seated with his hands hovering over the control panel, “do we have the all-clear, sir?”

The Doctor hesitated for a moment. “Yes, yes you do. Let's finish what that Dr. Wily started.”

“Yes sir”.

Keys were turned, lights and buttons scattered across the control board flashed on. Measurement data for electrical input was displayed next to the incomprehensible amount of wires tangled one over the other. Communications and commands were mumbled between the scientists working together to redirect the electrical current of the Ministry. The hope was to spark life back into the small robot, attached to the machines with wires upon wires.

Sparks flew, gears whirled, the lab on the other side of the barrier buzzed with busy machinery.

Yet the robot did not stir.

-

The bot’s neural connections twitched with electricity. Through a spark of association, he grasped a sense of awareness to his own mind. In an attempt to resurface some form of memories he had prior, the robot mentally searched for any old data. As a result of his fruitless attempt, he could feel some force pulling him from thinking in certain directions, limiting his thought process.

In one particular thought process, he could hear an echoing voice call out a name from the back of his head. It hardly registered with him at first, fading into the background of electric whistling and snapping sparks.

“Rokuro” it spoke, raspy but monotone.

The bot took a mental step in the direction of the call. It was a name he could recognize from a long time ago, somewhere buried under the heaps of useless data.

_“Where are you, I can’t see you,”_ the robot breathed, knowing no one was there. However, he said this not to expect an answer from the voice, but an answer from the memory he was starting to recall and reenact with himself.

“If you weren't-” the voice cut off, being buried under the background noise once again.

_“Rokuro” and “If you weren't-”, they were all referring to me…? I responded to it, so it has to be…_ the bot thought, mentally untangling the knot of coherent thought.

_So I’m Rokuro then, contextually, I have to be-_ his final thought was immediately cut off by an electric throb emitting from the front of his skull. It dragged him from his train of thought, and slowly took back the sense of awareness he had gained.

-

The lab swarmed with activity. The amount of flashing lights and overlapping mechanical noises would drive anyone in their right mind crazy. The electricity flowing relentlessly through the tangle of cables and wires was enough to kill a man with one shock, however, Dr. Light knew they needed more if they even hoped to have any chance at reviving the robot laying across the table.

“We need more power, the wattage is too low!” the doctor shouted over the buzzing machinery.

“Sir, this is all we have! The Ministry reserves are all dry, we’re using them all!”

“It isn’t enough, get the ThunderBeam Power Plant on the line. Call the director, tell him it’s my order! We’re running out of time!”

“Hold on, I’m getting them on the line right now.”

-

The factory by the bay hardly seemed to be active, no attention drew itself to it. Inside the seemingly small building, electricity ran, powering all the homes and buildings of the entire city of Metropolis. The director of the power plant stormed into the control room, a cell phone in one hand and files in the other.

“I’m sorry Dr, but there is no way I’m just gonna let all those unfiltered currents flow straight to your little institute,” the director said, practically dropping the stack of papers onto a stool by the blueprints for Magnemight, “Do you have any idea how many outages that would cause? The transfer alone would risk overheating connections, which means fire. Fire. Do you know how much damage that would cause, let alone the cost of something that disruptive, Dr?

“Yes, Director Elec I'm perfectly aware of the situation! This is incredibly important, you need to understand we need more voltage! As president of The Ministry of Robotics, our Institution will take full responsibility for the damage caused if so, promise.” Dr. Light fretted on the other side of the line.

Elec sighed, flipping through the files in front of him. “Fine, sure, but you better keep your promise. I’m blaming you for this.”

“Of course, of course. Thank you Director, your contribution won’t be wasted, I promise that too.”

“Yeah ok, cool. Only this once, I’m not going to bend over backward all the time for you. This is on you.”

The other line disconnected before Elec finished spitting his sentence into the phone. Grumbling to himself, he made a beeline towards the balcony overlooking Magnemight. Peering over the edge, Elec could spot the control panels for Magnemight, as well as the bot in charge of all the other robots who were in charge of managing Magnemight’s voltage and electric current. _God, do we really need this many machines working on the same thing?_ Elec thought to himself, withdrawn. The robot in charge, Fuse, was sitting with his hands flying across different keys and buttons on the control board.

**“Fuse! Hey Fuse!”** Elec’s voice boomed from above the working bots.

Fuse called back without pausing his work or even turning around, “No Sir, we haven’t seen any bugs in the system recently, everything’s good.”

**“Wha-N-no Fuse, I’m not asking ‘bout that right now!” **Elec bellowed from above.

Confused, Fuse swiveled his body around to look up towards his boss.

**“I’ve gotten a request from Mister Dr. President of Science and Robots guy to send all the currents his way.”** Elec continued.

“You mean the Ministry of Robotics, Sir?”

**“Yeah, yeah that place. We need to open the current flows from Magnemight in their direction, you go do that.”**

“Sir, that goes against code, the repercussions of something like that is too dangerous, it could cause damage to Magnemight’s systems-”

**“Look I know, I know, just do it ok? Can you just for once do what you’re told? They need it immediately, it’s urgent”**

“That urgent..?”

**“Apparently, yeah. I don’t know, just- uh just do your thing!”** Elec responded, rushing off to get the rest of the employees prepared for the transfer.

_


	2. Frakentsien Tiem Brooo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Light succeeds with the unknown help of a terrestrial influence in bringing life back to Rock, as well as bringing back a few other unexpected, and unwanted people.

-

Lights dimmed across the city, the calm atmosphere was met with a howling wind, crushing the serenity. Across the midnight sky, the only light illuminating the view of the ocean waves below was the trail of fire following a star, falling to earth’s atmosphere. Not a very large object, not a very bright one either. Darkness still swallowed the city of Metropolis, the people growing confused and outraged. The falling star was hardly noticed, the thick fog concealed its light.And what a marvelous thing it was; the string of events that would lead to the fall of Metropolis’ way of life for good were about to take place.

At that moment, one singular man aware of the forsaken star, was already watching, waiting. He observed the star from afar, ready to take action when it fell. He was to retrieve it, use his intellect and master craftsmanship skills to right the wrongs of his past. His bones showing through the skin of his hands tensed, elderly muscles pulling them together in an act of preparation. He continued to wait silently, the sound of something entering the atmosphere, breaking the stiff air.

At that moment, an older boy was observing the water climbing up his body, ready to take action when it reached his knees. In a contradicting manor, the teen’s nerves were spiking in panic as he stood there silently, unphased. Fully clothed, Forte stood in a bathtub staring into nothingness, the sound of rushing water was the only thing interrupting into stiff air.

At that moment, a robot typed commands into the keyboard in front of them. Fuse observed the screen, checking and rechecking the code typed in. Confirming the zeros and ones, Fuse sent the order to Magnamight’s systems. Wires and cables immediately shot to life, working their way to parts on the massive power grid. Fuse could only sit and monitor the uncontrollable levels of watts as the hissing sound of gas and electricity shattered the stiff air.

At that moment, an old doctor placed the telephone back onto the desk in front of him. Looking through the glass below him, Dr. Light could see the commotion of sparks and machinery happening within the lab. With all the energy he had left in him, he hurried down the flight of stairs towards the lab level, his footsteps echoing in the stiff air.

At that moment, a younger man looked down at the street below. Echoing voices of the police yelled from the fire escape, hot on his tail. Realizing it was the end, the man turned, tucking his bag in his coat. He took a step back, the crash of the roofway door breaking into the stiff air.

At that moment, a robot aware of the sounds of the outside world, stumbled around aimlessly in his own brain. The burning sensation of electricity surged through his body as the bot’s vision became increasingly saturated. A shrill ringing noise filled the atmosphere, growing increasingly prominent in what felt to be the small space he was in. The robot grew increasingly worried, his breath hitching in the stiff air.

-

The star was closer than ever now. Dr. Wily watched as the light made its way towards the ThunderBeam Power Plant, dangerously close to the ground. 

Forte held the extension chord with shaky fists, the plug end dangerously close to the water below. Looking out the window towards the city one more time, the teen closed his eyes and let go of the chord.

The power grid sparked and snapped flashes of electricity, Fuse knew something wasn’t right. If robots had stomachs, Fuse knew there would be a knot twisted inside it.

Reaching the bottom steps, Dr. Light’s hands quickly went towards his eyes, the light from behind the barrier was blinding.

Snake, in an act of desperation, took a step backward. His body was held up only by the tips of his shoes gripping to the edge of the building. Inhaling, he took another step back.

A force pulled the small bot’s consciousness upwards, the sensation blinding light shone through his vision.

-

The noise of a crash sounded, as the star struck the ocean’s waves. 

A rush of electricity reacting with water swept vigorously into the boy’s muscles.

Fear panged in Fuses’ body, witnessing Magnemight’s systems malfunction.

Light blinded the doctor’s vision, his hands hardly protecting his sight.

Snapping sounds echoing through the man’s ears as his body collides with the telephone wires below.

Electricity crashing violently into the robot’s system, dragging him away from his thoughts and into the blinding light his eyes could perceive. 

-

The machine awoke to the crackling of wires and creaking machinery. Sparks of electricity fell from above, bringing a small amount of light with them. Sitting upwards, he blinked a couple of times to filter the light coming in from a room near the ceiling. Unable to distinguish any faces behind the glass barrier, he leaned a little towards the window. Lights presented themselves above as the sound of a light switch being flicked on reached the robot's ears. The sound of footsteps drew his attention to the right of the room. He turned his attention to a short-statured human man with a large white beard was rushing towards him.

He wore an absurdly clean white coat with dark heavy shoes, the man’s skin appeared slightly wrinkled, creases near the edge of his face.

“Rockur- uh…. Rock!” the man stuttered, reaching the side of the table, “Your name is Rock. My name is Thomas Light, I am a scientist who specializes in machinery and robotics behavior, I mean you no harm. We are in a lab at the Ministry of Robotics at the moment, you’re in no danger here. How are your systems running?”

“Good?” Rock replied, a bit confused. He stared into the Dr.’s eyes, trying to decipher what information was just given to him. However, he had hardly any previous data to compare any of the info to. Instead, Rock just sat there, waiting for Dr. Light to give him further instructions. 

“Ok, good. Great!” blurted Dr. Light in response to the previous quiet seconds of awkwardness that still hung in the air, “Let’s get you moving then, out of here at least.”

Rock nodded, as Dr. Light proceeded to help him off the table. 

_


	3. To Entertain a Borderline Toddler for Over 4 Hours is Quite Impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter title says it all.

Fuse couldn’t tear their gaze from the ceiling. Their body was sprawled on the ground, buried beneath the remnants of broken machinery. 

**“Fuse! W-where’d you go, Fuse?!”**

They couldn’t move their body. 

“**Fuse**, oh thank god. shitohjesuschrist- are you alright? Fuse?”. Director Elec was directly above him, digging him out of the rubble with his absurdly frail hands.

_ “You must leave! It is not safe for humans to be so close to the equipment!” _

“Fuse? Fuse, answer me, a-are you- **Fuse! Fuse, can you hear me?!?”**

Fuse’s mouth wouldn’t cooperate with their brain. Frantically, they continued to try to move.

_ “Elec, go! Get out of here-” _

The wall to Elec’s left exploded, thankfully leaving the two of them unscathed. Shining moonlight broke into the dimly lit room, and a figure stood in the frame of the hole blasted through the wall. Its head sprouted a pair of yellow fins, one arm was formed into a blaster pointed at the two of them and the other hand carried something within its hand.

Pieces of ceiling started giving way to gravity, and Elec’s breath choked inside his own throat as the blaster charged.

-

It was hard to get himself on his feet at first, he could feel his balance was completely off. Rock stumbled around, the ground seemed to move right out from under him. After a bit of practice and recalibrating, he was off and running almost normally. Rock wasn’t one to talk, the bot was constantly darting his eyes around in awe. The new information of his surroundings was coming to him all at once, becoming a bit overwhelming. However, he never felt himself slow down, his curiosity was too strong to keep him grounded for long. Dr. Light had to practically pry him off the hallway windows to get him to move along, every three seconds he would completely stop in his tracks and press his face against the room-sized window. The colors and commotion of the city below left him awestruck, it felt as though any moment he would push through the glass barrier and walk out into the sky. 

Eventually, he found himself in a large cylindrical room with uncomfortably achromatic bland walls. Being seated on a table in the center of the room, Rock could feel his earlier enthusiasm and curiosity slowly diminish. There was nothing, no anything besides the table he currently occupied, some rather boring looking and equally pale machinery, and a computer that was just as committed to the room’s aesthetic as all the other objects. His legs swung nonchalantly as they dangled from the table. He looked to his internal clock, realizing he had no clue what the time was anyways. It had to have been a while though. Hadn’t it? In a completely unnecessary manner, Rock let out a rather loud exhale mixed with a sort of hum. He paused. Why did he do that? He’s pretty sure he doesn’t have lungs, or at least uses them. So why did he decide to breathe for no particular reason? His brain started to ache from all the contemplating, so he decided to stop for now.

He tapped all his fingers rhythmically on the desk. The odd clacking sound of his skin hitting the metal surface didn’t sound like organic skin, like he would have assumed. 

Hopping off the table, he sat himself on the floor. Running his finger on the outline of the tiled floor only occupied him for so long. With little to nothing to do, Rock didn’t want to occupy his time with thinking himself into a headache. However, the sheer amount of boredom he felt was enough to instigate one anyways. 

After what felt like an eternity, Rock stood and paced around the room, testing his ability to walk. In the conclusion of a not so comfortable tumble, he figured he still needed practice, at least later, since he found himself unable to stand back up. Instead, he settled quietly underneath the ominous table, and noticed something stuck to the table’s underside, forgotten and alone. Rock scanned the sticker out of curiosity. What could have accompanied the bar code, left in the past to be eroded within time? Its sheer existence was appalling, its nonconforming bright and cheesy color scheme screamed to be heard, if only you knew where to look and listen. Sorting through a form of bare bone coding and number crunching, Rock strained his vision to observe every detail of the obnoxious thing. He concluded it was one of those grocery store fruit stickers.

-

“But how _ sure _ are you, Light”

“I am positive,” Dr. Light confirmed, feeling the slightest bit annoyed, “ it would be an absolute financial waste to discard a model that advanced! There are aspects of his inner workings beyond even my knowledge.”

“That is the problem, Doctor. We have no idea what we don’t know. That machine could be capable of anything, and we’re none the wiser. However, we _ do _ know where it was manufactured, and that enough should be a large red flag for you and your team.”

“We’ve had enough experience Professor Cain, my team and I have handled robots with similar designs before, we’re ready for this.”

“You mean _ robot, _I only remember there being one of them. By the way, where did it happen to go?”

Dr. Light tensed, trying not to let his expressions betray him.

“Oh, that’s right,” Professor Cain said, “ he disappeared, went missing-”

“That won’t happen again Professor, you have to trust me on this. Think about the future, what we will achieve with the knowledge we gain from studying him.”

Professor Cain pressed his hand against his forehead.

“ I understand your commitment Dr. You can keep _ it. _Don’t mess this up, Light.” Professor Cain sighed, heading for the exit.

Dr. Light let out a breath of relief “ Thank you, Professor, you won’t regret this!”

Professor Cain stopped for a brief second before he disappeared out the door. 

“I hope I don’t have to.” 

And with that, Dr. Light found himself alone in his office, hoping the decision he made was the right one.

-

Rock punched his own side. Hard. This only caused him to double over though, he’s not sure what he expected. He felt kind of stupid anyways for thinking it’d help. Out of sheer boredom, Rock had peeled the already loose sticker from the table. Somehow, it found its way to his lower left abdomen, and now it was completely flat against the surface of his skin. Which means he couldn't get his own clumsy hands to peel it back off. Accepting the absurd and unsightly decoration as a new and inescapable part of him, Rock laid his back against the tile floor.

Looking anywhere for a clock or some indication of time, he started to feel an itch for stimulation- and in the blink of an eye Rock let out a yelp in surprise, nearly jumping out of his skin. He hadn’t realized he stretched his leg, and by chance his foot kicked the computer stand nearby. That resulted in a loud clang, followed by a creak, then a crash, and finally an ensemble of clattering tech breaking and hitting the floor. A deafening silence was all that was left, the broken remains of everything in the room beside the table and the granny smith bar code sticker. Rock grimaced. The few moments of disorder weren’t even that fun to watch, thanks to the very useless color choice of all the equipment. He would have definitely enjoyed it more if there was a more distinguished and visible moment of chaos. 

Finally getting fed up with the lack of things to do, Rock contemplated leaving. Surely anything was better than this right now, right? Okay, maybe not anything, but it would definitely be more interesting than this. Looking around, Rock tried to see if there were any other way out besides the door. Someone would definitely stop him if they saw him leave, so just walking out the front door was out of the question. He was finally able to stand to his feet, his eyes falling on an air vent near the ceiling. And now, of course, he was sure of what he needed to do.

-

The confidential photographs were placed back within the envelope. Inspector Signas had spent the past hours analyzing and over-analyzing the few photos taken. Surveillance resources had picked up on an unidentified object not only entering the atmosphere, but crash-landing in the bay only four or so hours ago. Since then he’d been trying to spot something, anything within the data given to him, not for his own personal interest. It was his job, anyways.

Everything out of the ordinary was brought to the attention of the PSIB. Being organized within the First Intelligence Circuit; specifically division one, Signas was placed in charge of Domestic Security Issues. Signas was known for being a reliable operative and intelligent addition to the Public Security Intelligence Bureau, however, this case had him baffled. Nothing man-made would have been on the path to crash in Metro Tokyo Bay, and there had been no spacecraft reported missing from any of the moon colony’s intel. The only explanation he could come up with was that the crash most definitely was illegal activity. Besides that, Inspector Signas had no answers. 

The only other things happening at the same time were an electrical outage (which wasn’t uncommon these days), and an explosion at the city’s largest Electrical Power Plant. It made absolutely no sense how the other two events could possibly coincide with whatever landed in Metro Tokyo Bay. It probably didn’t anyway. Signas’ office clock rung six times, indicating it was already 6:00 in the morning. Not wanting to leave the office after 7:30, he opened his work computer with a sigh. Signas only hoped to be assigned to a different case once he finished reporting his findings to his officials. 

-

Stacking the pile of rubbish high enough to get him to the vent, Rock used his brute strength to haphazardly punch the grate until it fell off. Although it wasn’t the quietest method to remove it, he’d realized no amount of noise would necessarily attract any attention at this point. Rock climbed into the cool air vent, immediately crawling his way forward. Weaving his way through the ventilation system wasn’t challenging for him in the slightest, he’d seemed lucky enough to not run into any dead ends. In fact, he’d been so blessed by grace, that he was able to directly make his way out to the external grate. Peering above him, he could see the natural sunlight that broke through the slits in the grate. The same curiosity that plagued him earlier took quick hold of him, as he climbed out of the vent to the roof. 


	4. I'm Sorry, Who...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rock is harassed by a stupid, dumb jackass on the roof. And his life is threatened too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for having a shorter chapter here, the panels took up most of my time. i'm goin somewhere with this, i swear  
(Artwork done by @/eglee-the-clown-enthusiast on Tumblr)

  
The air around him moved quickly, the echo of noise from below the rooftop was washed out by the wind traveling in from the bay. Buildings seemed to sprout from the ground for as far as Rock could see to his right, while the ocean entrance was visible to his left. The mountain range rising into an orange illumination in front of him was hard to miss, it seemed to be the only thing stopping any more buildings. What caught him off guard was the vastitude of the sky. As far as Rock could see in every direction, with the exception of downwards, the slightest void of any landmass was backdropped by a dark blue. 

Realizing the orange highlights growing and revealing more and more details in the landscape, Rock turned to be greeted by the sunrise from behind him. And, surprisingly, someone else. Rock wasn’t sure the other robot was on the rooftop before, no he’s positive they weren’t, they had to have snuck up on him at some point or another. The other person now in front of him stood taller than Rock, sporting a red design and thin antenna. They stood facing away from him, their arms crossed. Whoever was aware that they were being watched now, and chuckled.

Rock, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with this other robot’s previously implied statements, attempted to find a way out of the conversation.

“I’m pretty sure Smartass isn't here, so um, I’ll just see you later I guess. Good luck finding your friend-”

“So this Dr, Thomas, right? How do you know him, did you guys just meet or something?” the stranger interrupted, stepping forward to block Rock’s path with his body.

“Maybe…?” Rock swallowed. 

“Why are you listening to him, how do you know that he knows your name?”

“What? Uh… I’m sure he does…?”

“Well, then how’d you get here then? Shouldn’t you be inside with Dr. Light? Why are you outside n’ all?”

“I don’t think I should be telling you that kind of stuff.”

“Do you even know what your answer is though?”

“Well yeah I- can, can you uh... please leave me alone?”

“Yeah, no.”

The taller robot was now actively blocking Rock from his exit. Suddenly, the real weight of his predicament started to become aware to him. A knot tied itself in his stomach, Rock’s insides started to feel sick.

“I-I'm going to go back inside-” Rock stated quickly, trying to maneuver around the stranger. They didn’t budge. 

“Jesus, just think about what I’m asking for a second. I’ll move if ya do.” the robot bargained, now having to shuffle side to side, just to stay in front of Rock.

“Move! Letmebackinside!” Rock sputtered, now panicking. 

“Seriously, are you just going to- are you kidding me!?” The towering stranger groaned, “I don't have the fucking patience for this, screw it.”

Without warning, the robot lunged forward and snatched Rock in their grasp. Instantly, panic jabbed Rock in the gut, his body screaming at him to get away from whoever the hell this was. Rock immediately tried squirming out of the stranger’s grasp, delivering as many punches as he could to anywhere on the other robot he could reach.

“Get off of me-!!!” he spat, trying to use his legs to push away from the robot.

“Just give me a sec-” the stranger hissed in reply, grasping at whichever of Rock’s flailing limb they could, “It’ll make sense in a moment, just-”

“GET OFF OF ME!” Rock screamed, landing a harsh kick to the robot’s mouth. The stranger let go of Rock, their hands clutching at their jaw in pain. Rock used this moment to scramble to his feet, upset to find that the taller robot was still in between him and the ventilation shaft. The stranger uttered an immaturely large amount of profanity as they stumbled backwards slightly. Even though they could have easily outmatched Rock in strength and size, surprisingly the robot didn’t try to manhandle him again. Instead, they seemed to slip back into bickering with the younger bot.

“What the  _ SHIT _ was that?!?! Look, it’s-...ugh.  _ Jesus fuck _ , I'm not gonna hurt you or something, damn. That was super uncalled for,  _ owww... _ ”

Rock, still trying to desperately shrink further away from where he stood, squeaked wearily, “You were  _ just  _ talking about how you’re gonna kidnap me and sell my disassembled lifeless body on the black market! I-I don’t think that’s really uncalled for.”

“Well, ok that's not true- no well it was until I- look uh,” stammered the other robot, taking his hands away from his face and crossing his arms. The nondefinitive answer only made Rock more visibly terrified. 

The stranger continued to stumble over their words,“Its a uh, a joke! Yeah, I was just messing with you n’ all.”

“It-It wasn’t a very good joke,” Rock replied meekly. 

The other robot retorted in a huff “It  _ was _ a good joke, you just have a shitty sense of humor.” 

There was, of course, no response to this from the smaller bot. An obvious change in the stranger’s tone from earlier was not able to be ignored by either,

“Uh, nice tattoo you got there.” the stranger continued, seemingly trying to keep Rock’s attention. They seemed to be referencing the obscenely ugly sticker somehow miraculously still clinging to Rock’s side. “What's it suppose to be? Oh, wait, that's not a tattoo, is it. You look like too much of a pussy to be completely honest. Is it uh… some kind of temporary decal type shit”.

That weak conversation starter right there just fell flat on its metaphorical face. Now the two bots stood on the roof in awkward silence, neither one of them knowing how to respond to anything that was going on. Rock was semi convinced the stranger’s reassurance was genuine, however, he was nonetheless more confused than he was before. The taller robot cleared their throat rather theatrically, stepping forward within reaching distance of Rock.

“Well,  _ Rock,  _ I’m  _ sorry  _ that you are such a wuss who hates anything fun.” The names’ Blues. It’s nice and all to meet you  _ I guess _ .”

Rock didn’t know how to respond. Of course, he knew what a handshake was, however, the philosophical dilemma was a much harder issue to solve than simply recalling a social cue. This robot,  _ Blues _ that is, was only a mere second ago pretending to kidnap him without any previous indication of it just being a gag. The look on Rock’s face must have given away his suspicions, or perhaps his reluctance to respond because Blues piped in once again.

“Okay, okay, no funny business, I promise.” Blues added, extending his hand further towards Rock. 

Sighing, Rock decided to accept his greeting. Rock reached his hand to shake Blues’, the taller robot smiling and giving Rock’s hand a firm, formal shake. However, Blues glanced down at both their hands, frowning. 

“Huh. I didn’t realize you had a nosegoes on your hand.” Blues claimed, looking surprised.

Rock looked down at his outstretched hand, “A what on my hand? What's a-”

“Nose Goes!”

Before Rock knew it, Blues shot their still intertwined hands directly into Rock’s jaw at the exact moment he peered down. 

“Hey! What was that for?” Rock shouted, pulling his hand out of Blues’ to hold his chin with both hands. 

“Noes Goes. I can’t believe you actually fell for that holy shit!” Blues snorted, putting his hands on his hips, “I mean, it was suppose to hit your nose, but still I can’t believe it actually worked ppffttthahahahah!!!”. Blues leaned over with his hands on his knees, cackling and somewhat wheezing at his own comedic genius. 

“I don’t see how hitting my nose instead of my chin would make any difference,” Rock grumbled, shaking off the initial shock that getting an uppercut directly to the face would give someone.

“It’s the  _ name _ , Rock, The  _ name.  _ I might as well have said chingoes instead, but it doesn’t rhyme.” 

“That’s still stupid.”

“I don’t make the rules,” Blues shrugged, strolling backwards, “ I guess that makes us even then. Not gonna lie, those flimsy lil’ arms of yours can actually pack quite a punch. Oh well, I best be going, I’ll see you here later at some point, yeah? Hah, no need to answer, of course, I will.” 

Rock had no clue how to reply, so he ended up just watching Blues walk behind a large air conditioning unit and seemingly disappear.

“Hey, wait!” Rock finally shouted, however, he was too late. Wherever and however Blues went, he was at this point too far to hear him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn, sorry for not posting in so long, i'll be updating regularly for now on (hopefully).  
I hate how Blues talks, because its what I sound like half the time. (like a lame ass bitch)


End file.
